"Off with their heads!"

Lewis Carroll’s Queen of Hearts frequently called for the beheading of those around her. The spirit of the Queen was at work in parliament during the year as various political heads rolled or were in serious trouble. Nationals leader and deputy prime minister, Barnaby Joyce, found himself in a world of pain with Section 44 and relationship problems, and a ’Super Saturday’ of by-elections in July delivered mixed results for the major parties.

The Greens found themselves on the back foot after losing the Batman by-election in Melbourne, one they expected to win. In one of the biggest head-rolling exercises, the Liberal Party held a vote to replace its leader, to the puzzlement of many, with Scott Morrison replacing Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, who promptly left politics.